His Girls
by Wizleysnipes
Summary: Takes place after the end of the show, Xander is in Africa.
1. Chapter 1

Title: His Girls Part 1

Author: Wizleysnipes

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me, they all belong to Joss Whedon.

Authors Notes: Takes place after the end of the show, Xander is in Africa.

"No"

With that declaration Xander turned his back on Buffy and closed his office door. Buffy was more surprised than anything at such a simple response, she wanted to ascertain the reasons or reason why and went to grab the handle of the door.

Her hand was interrupted by a much smaller hand, Buffy glanced briefly to her left to the young girl that had touched her.

"When the boss man says no, the boss man says no lady"

Buffy raised an eyebrow towards the obviously young slayer, she couldn't be more than 14.

"Do you know who i am?" Buffy asked.

"Lady, you could be the queen of England. I don't care. He said no, i suggest you take that and run with it."

"I'm Buffy."

"Oh the original, yea we've all heard the stories about you. Boss man used to tell us all about the great Buffy and how she saved the world"

"So this conversation is between me and Xander..."

"Do you know who i am?" The girl replied with a smirk "Names Eshe, it means life. Now that introductions are over with i think you should just take a knee on this and go to the quarters you were assigned"

Buffy smiled sweetly at the girl "You think you could stop me from going into his room?"

"I don't know lady. The first vampire i killed was 900. I was 12 years old and i killed it with a pencil. All your stories are great and all but i'm not scared of much"

Eshe clicked the fingers on her left hand suddenly Buffy found herself surrounded by teenage girls.

"Also we don't take kindly to threats. We are a family here and we fight like a single unit. You want to take on all of us?"

Buffy surveyed the girls, there were atleast 25. She had no doubt she could handle 2, maybe even 3 at a single time, but 25 was a bit much even for her. She released the door handle and took a step back, bumping into a girl behind her accidentally in the process.

"So i guess you aren't aware that me and Xander are family and he wouldn't like you treating me this way? Not to mention i'm head of the councils "America's Tactics Units" and can have you all disciplined for this..."

Another girl piped up "It wasn't the council that free'd me from a life of slavery lady, that was Xander and that means more than anything you can say"

Buffy heard confirmations all round from the girls around her and she sighed, this was not going according to plan.

"Look" Eshe piped up "Xan just needs to wind down, he's been on a mission for 2 days and whatever you said to him got him angry. Give him the night at least."

Buffy could only nod her head as she stooped down to pick up her suitcase and wandered towards the guest section of the African encampment.

It was nicer looking than she would have imagined, given it's location. They were a few miles outside Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Outside the encampment was nothing but wasteland and desert as far as she could see. According to the council this place basically had a budget of zero, unlike pretty much any other outpost in the world.

That was one of the main reasons Wood had asked her to get Xander to give up his position and move to a different outpost. He wanted to take Xander and use him to turn the other outposts around into similar functioning headquarters in there respective areas. The new council was hemorrhaging money at an alarming rate apparently.

Buffy unlocked her quarters door and shook her head free of the thoughts, this was supposed to be a simple vacation to see her friend. Hell she wasn't the only one that was supposed to be here, so was Dawn and Willow but them two had cancelled at the last minute.

Dawn had issues with travelling whilst she was pregnant, she only had 2 months left and Buffy would be an Aunt. That thought brought a smile to her face if nothing else. Dawn's husband Louis was a watcher just like Dawn herself and they'd simply fell in love over dusty old tomes and books. A tale as old as time.

Willow on the other hand had no real excuse, she was the most powerful witch on the planet. Her expertise had led to several advancements for the council in terms of preventing any magical based demonic infringements. There were now warning systems in place around the world to warn the council of any heavy magic use and that was all Willow's implementation. However she was now basically a lady of leisure and didn't really do much work for the council, her main focus as of late was dating again.

It had taken a while after her and Kennedy had split up for Willow to try dating but she eventually did. As far as Buffy knew it was mostly unsuccessful and there hadn't been any significant advances in that area she was aware of and she basically lived next door to Willow inside the Cleveland compound.

So here Buffy was, in the congo, alone. Trying to get Xander to agree to something she was pretty sure he'd never want to do.

Leave


	2. Chapter 2

Title: His Girls Part 2

Author: Wizleysnipes

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me, they all belong to Joss Whedon.

Authors Notes: Takes place after the end of the show, Xander is in Africa.

Buffy awoke with a start, the sounds of muffled voices and feet running passed her door roused her from her slumber. Yawning she grabbed a white T-shirt and pulled it on and pulled on her training shorts. Pulling her hair up into a loose pony tail and slipping her pumps on she walked to her door and pulled it open.

Some of the young slayers flew passed her door running in the same direction, confused Buffy grabbed the arm of one and pulled her to a stop. The young girl looked at her wide-eyed in an almost shy manner.

"What's happening?" Buffy asked.

"Sorry ma'am, didn't mean to wake you. Chloe and Shantel are in the pit." The girl smiled at her and pulled her arm free.

Following the girl Buffy saw a large crowd of teenage girls surrounding whatever was so interesting, pushing her way through she came to a wooden fence that was in the shape of a large circle and inside two slayers were circling one another.

Chloe, Buffy knew from yesterday, was a brunette with very pale skin and she was facing off against a darker skinned girl with pitch black hair.

"Shantel" Buffy surmised.

The two went back and forth, not so much as giving an inch to the other. A dodge here, a weave there and then Shantel made her first mistake. She left herself open to a one-two combo that Chloe capitalized on. The girl went down fast, her split lip sent blood spraying across the sand at her feet and her left eye immediately coming up with a welt from the force of the 2nd hit.

Chloe stood there waiting for the girl to get up. Buffy was about to interject when she saw from across the ring Xander step onto the sand, followed by the girl Eshe that she had spoken to yesterday. He approached Chloe from behind and tapped her on the shoulder

(Not a good idea) Buffy thought, knowing just how reactionary slayers were, especially in the middle of a fight.

Chloe span with her fist raised and headed towards Xander, who didn't even blink when the fist was halted an inch or two from his face in its entirety by Eshe. The girl at Xander's side had grabbed it so quickly, Buffy wasn't even sure what had happened, she then pushed Chloe backwards causing the girl to almost stumble.

"Chloe. What do you have to say to Shantel?" Xander asked.

Chloe gulped and looked at the floor then turned to her compadre and helped her up.

"Sorry Shantel."

"And what are you sorry for?" asked Xander.

"I'm sorry Shantel for using your stuff without permission"

Shantel squinted at Xander then turned to Chloe.

"It's okay. Please just ask in future"

Like that the fight was over and it left Buffy confused.

Xander walked forwards two steps and gently cradled Shantel's face, he stroked the side of her eye that had started to swell up and she winced in reply, then he pulled his hand down to her bust lip and inspected that also.

"Shan go see Martin he will fix you up."

The young girl nodded in return "yes Boss"

Xander groaned slightly "Please don't call me Boss, i thought there was hope for you"

Giggles could be heard all around Buffy from the ones watching.

"No hope here Boss, just me" Shantel replied.

"Well i guess you'll do then" He quipped in reply with a smirk.

Shantel gathered herself and lept over the small wooden fence on the opposite side to Buffy and disappeared through the throng of Slayers. Xander walked till he was stood in front of Chloe.

"Hands" Xander commanded.

Chloe raised her hands with her palms down.

He gently grabbed her right hand and pushed down on each knuckle, on the third finger he heard the sharp intake of breath from Chloe.

"I've told you how many times to pull your punches in here?" He asked

"Enough Boss" The girl replied meekly with her head still down looking at the ground.

"Well it's only for your own good. Busting a knuckle on someone's face may seem like a great idea at the time"

"Yes Xander" She replied.

"Well, you should go see Martin too. He can probably bandage your hand up and do something for the pain."

"Ok Boss" Chloe replied and followed her enemy combatant from earlier.

Xander looked up and around at the girls.

"Well i know this was fun for you all but honestly the next time you want to watch some action, can't you just flip on UFC or something"

"We're better" came a voice from the crowd and a few grunts of confirmation followed it.

"True" Xander replied "But you know they have guys with six packs in spandex on there right?"

Some of the girls giggled as they started to seperate and walk back towards whatever they had been doing previously. Buffy gulped and stayed still as Xander walked over to the fence she was stood at.

"Hey Buff." He smirked at her and adjusted his eye patch slightly "You want to get some breakfast?"

Buffy gulped and nodded her head "Sure, i wasn't sure you would want to see me after yesterday"

"Really? This is me your talking about right? I don't know how to hold a grudge against a Summers girl and i don't think its physically possible to be perfectly honest with you"

Buffy grinned "Well i don't know about all that but how about you lead me to breakfast, i'm starving."

"Sure, just follow me" He pushed at a fench post a few feet away and it slid open, it was a gate apparently.

Following at the side of him they walked through the compound, a few of the girls working or training in the main courtyard watched them with a few murmurs here and there.

"What are they so interested in?" Buffy asked.

"Well it's probably because you are pretty famous Buffy. You got to remember, my girls haven't really left this continent, atleast not most of them and have never seen you before." Xander grinned at her.

"Famous? Me?"

"You did turn them all into superheroes, that's pretty crazy" Xander replied "Also they may have also heard some embellished stories from me about you"

"Embellished in what way?" Buffy asked warily.

"well i may have told them you were 6"4 and weighed in at half a ton" Xander grinned.

"WHAT?" Buffy shrieked.

"Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time and still makes me chuckle. Totally worth it"

Buffy just grunted in response as they walked upto his door, he pushed the handle and the door opened inwards. Standing still he motioned for her to walk through.

"Ladies first"

"Why thank you, kind sir" Buffy replied sweetly and walked inside his room. It was at that moment she noticed the girl Eshe had been following them from the arena but stopped outside his door and turned with her back to the door.

Xander said a few words to her in a hushed tone and Buffy saw the girl nod her head and smile, then he walked back and closed the door.

"What's her deal? She your bodyguard?" Buffy asked, about Eshe.

"Well, she thinks she is." Xander replied smiling.

"We should have got you one of them back in Sunnydale" Buffy grinned as Xander walked over to the fridge in the kitchenette and pulled out a few eggs.

"Well i mean, Anya did guard my body. She was pretty good at it"

"So not what i meant..." Buffy replied and shook her head. Walking forwards she pulled a stool out from under the breakfast bar and sat down.

"Omelette okay?" Xander asked as he started cracking a few of the eggs.

"Definitely" Buffy responded as she looked around his room.

It was a bigger room than her own. There was a living area, the bedroom was off to one side and sectioned off by a wooden partition and his bathroom was on the opposite wall with the Kitchen section been opposite the main exit for the apartment. On the wall where the Bathroom door was she noticed a large mural. It was a painting of the girls outside with Xander stood in the centre, eye patch and all. The sun was behind them and just rising, the painting almost made it look like they glowed.

Xander noticed her been quiet and saw her glance at the mural.

"Chloe painted that" He said, almost in a whisper.

"The girl in the pit just now?" Buffy asked in confirmation.

Xander nodded in confirmation "Yep. That's why i keep warning her to pull her punches, she busts a knuckle and ruins her dexterity then it's not just the fight against darkness that suffers. It's mankind as a whole"

Buffy grunted in admiration "It is lovely, she's very talented"

"Way more talented than anybody realised" Xander replied and plated out an omelette for each of them.

"What's in this?" Buffy asked as she poked a fork at the food.

"Ham and cheese" He responded with a mouthful of food "pretty standard"

Buffy took a bite and smiled as she savoured her first real meal on this continent. She hadn't really had chance to eat anything yesterday, it had been too much travel and too much jet leg to do anything but sleep once she'd reached the compound.

"Talking with your mouthful, did Giles teach you nothing?"

"He taught me to be afraid of the dark" Xander replied "that and earl grey tea"

Buffy smirked and nodded her head "I mean earl grey tea is pretty terrifying."

"The most terrifying. That and cliche stereotypes about English people" Xander grinned.

"Hey, it's not a cliche... he really does like that crap" Buffy retorted.

"True... "

Finishing off her omelette Buffy pushed her plate away from her and sat back.

"So why don't we get down to business" Buffy asked.

"If that business is the same business as yesterday then there is no business" Xander said "I'm not leaving my girls"

Buffy's eyes went wide at his declaration, his girls. When did that happen? When did Willow and Buffy stop been part of that group and when did all these strange girls take there spots?

If she thought about it, it was a long time ago. They'd over the years just slipped into more of an acquaintance relationship with there friend Xander. They still talked regularly on the phone or over face time but it was rarely really personal.

(Hell) Buffy thought (I don't even know if he's dating anybody).

Glancing downwards for a second and taking a breath she raised her eyes to Xander who was waiting calmly for her response.

"Well the council..." Buffy started but was quickly cut off by him.

"The council? They can go screw themselves"

Buffy gasped and looked almost offended "Hey, i'm part of that group if you don't mind."

Xander acquiesced and nodded his head "True, i meant more that Robin could go screw himself, than anybody else"

Robin, after his relationship with Faith had ended, had for all intents and purposes become the de-facto leader for the new council. He oversaw pretty much everything and had the last word on most important decisions. Some stuff was delegated to sub-ordinates like Faith, Willow or Buffy herself but he rarely really wanted them to do anything substantial. Almost like he didn't trust them to do the job correctly.

"You have an issue with Robin?"

Xander snorted derisively "just a few"

"what's the problem Xander" Buffy replied her voice slightly raising.

Gulping Xander shook his head slowly "nothing, nevermind. Forget about it"

Buffy pushed herself off the stool and walked around the breakfast bar and into Xanders space. She grabbed his chin and made him look at her.

"You know, i thought we'd been over this whole lying to each other thing a long time ago Xander" She asked softly with a smile.

He smiled back at her and hesitantly asked "You remember the Faith reboot issue?"

Buffy hand instinctively went to her chin, a long scar adorned it and ran all the way down her neck towards her breasts. It was a present from Faith a few years before. Faith had been tracking these demons for days and at one point she went off the grid. When she returned it turned out she'd been somehow brainwashed. Her brain had been reverted to darker days, the times of Sunnydale and not only that but she'd been suped up somehow. She was like a slayer on steroids. It took everything from both Buffy and Willow to bring her down effectively and fix the situation.

Buffy didn't blame the girl, even if Faith after the fact had retired from the life as problem had caused her to become so close to what she had been striving for years to get away from. Last Buffy heard Faith was in Los Angeles hanging around Angel's crew and only assisting when she was really required.

"Hard to forget that... "Buffy gulped.

"Yea..." He replied weakly "Well i'd warned Robin she was heading down a dark path and was heading to Cleveland and he chose to ignore me."

Buffy's eyebrows shot up angrily "Why would he do that?"

"He said" Xander responded "and i quote "His Faith had left that path behind and was now on the righteous side of history and that i'd clearly been mistaken" and then he hung up on me. She'd been here Buffy, a week before she attacked Cleveland."

"Well why didn't you call me or Willow?" Buffy questioned

"You were busy, i did try a few times that week." He responded "Something about a gala or something business related."

Buffy's mind filled in the details. That week had been a massive breakthrough for the Cleveland headquarters to the new watchers. They'd thrown a gala and invited many local and federal politicians to wine and dine, trying to get any sort of headway in the necessary developments that required for the headquarters, building or otherwise.

Both Buffy and Willow had been heavily invested in both planning and running the Gala, it had been a rousing success, with planning permissions expediated for the new dorms for all the new slayers that were to attend.

They had even received accreditation for there "school" from the Higher Learning commission.

Then Faith had attacked.

The girl had put several slayers in hospital and a few watchers along with them before Buffy and Willow had managed to box her in and take her down. With Willow cleaning her aura and restoring her memories the girl had returned to normal rather swifly after the intervention.

"After that i basically cut-off all ties with the new council" Xander continued "We don't need them and they can't take anyone from here"

"You can't do that Xander" Buffy replied swiftly "I mean they do still technically own this building and all the equipment, they could feasibly kick you out of there building"

Xander grinned "I'd like to see them try."

"You want a war between slayers?" Buffy asked with a raised eyebrow "Because that basically sounds what you're hoping for"

"I don't want a war between anyone, i just don't need them" He replied "You know how many apocalypses my girls have stopped this year alone? 11, with no outside assistance. My girls are ready to take on the world."

Buffy grimaced and shook her head in disappointment, it was only June and they'd had that many big events in Africa? "11? In 6 months? That's a fair few to be correct Xand"

"Africa isn't like America Buffy. The things that go bump here, also tend to go bang. Any demon that voluntarily lives here is usually the worst of the worst"

"It can't be that difficult if..." Buffy continued, immediately regretting her choice of words.

"If i survived? Ha." Xander grinned "Well i've got Eshe, she tends to be clingy and stop anything before it can get close"

Buffy looked towards the door "That girl? She's tiny."

"Really Buffy? Your judging someone by there size?" He responded with a smile.

"That's why i can. I know i'm short and she's even smaller than me" Buffy replied.

The girl in question was about a foot shorter than Buffy, which was saying something, as Buffy herself only stood at 5'4.

"Put it this way" Xander said "When you stopped Faith, did she have a limp?"

Buffy's mind wandered back and confirmed that she had indeed had a limp on her right side. Buffy at the time had thought that one of the demons that had brainwashed her had also injured her in some way.

"Yea a rather noticeable one on her right side."

"That was Eshe." Xander responded with pride and a smile "Faith had laid out 9 of my girls and seriously injured many of the staff before she got to my door and Eshe. Everybody recovered thankfully but some had physio for quite a while to get over the injuries"

Buffy sighed and grimaced.

"Eshe halted her at my door" He continued "Faith been Faith, even if she was brainwashed also tried to use her height as an insult. Eshe got struck once, you can still see the scar above her right eye, it was within an inch of permanent damage. Faith had hidden a blade up her sleeve that Eshe hadn't seen. Anyways. Bleeding into her right eye and with only really her left eye to go on Eshe dismantled Faith and left her bleeding. The only reason Faith even escaped from this compound is because i ordered Eshe to help the other girls and she follows orders well"

Buffy gaped. It had taken everything she'd had to stop Faith and that was with help from Willow the most powerful witch in the world.

"Eshe isn't like any slayer i've ever met Buffy" Xander replied wistfully "You know where we found the girl?"

"where?"

"Well we'd had reports of vampire activity around an orphanage in Kananga. When we got there the place was hell. Large parts of the building were on fire or derelict. Me and 3 other slayers went about clearing the place out. Everybody had been turned, upto and including visitors to the orphanage. Also any children that were housed there."

Buffy gasped and looked down at her hands.

"Anyway we bust down one of the main dorm room doors and there she stood. Covered head to toe in blood with a burnt teddy bear in one hand and a dinner fork in the other"

"How old was she?" Buffy asked.

"13..." Xander replied "She'd been in that place alone for a week, surrounded by over 95 vampires and the only reason there were even any left for us to kill was that she hadn't even know what they were or what she was. She'd simply been defending herself and hadn't known to stake them."

Buffy glanced at the door, knowing the girl from there discussion was stood steadfast outside.

"Even when we burst down that door and she was there covered head to toe in blood and guts. With just a fork for a weapon and coming face to face with me and my 3 slayers with real weapons. She was still ready for a fight"

Buffy smiled as he seemed to disappear for a second into his memories of the girl.

"So what i'm getting is that she's a tough cookie?" Buffy asked.

"No Buffy. Eshe is the pinnacle" Xander responded levelling her with a glare.

"Pinnacle?" Buffy replied "what do you mean?"

"Eshe was born with learning disabilities. She was a barely functioning child before the Scyth imbued her with the slayer essence which is one of the reasons she'd been in the orphanage at all. It not only fixed her but gave her boosts that have never been measured before, in any slayer. Not even you"

"And why hasn't anyone thought to tell me this?" Buffy asked angrily.

"Well thats probably because nobody outside this encampment even knows." Xander replied

"Well why not?" Buffy said and poked him in the chest "she could be important to the future, she could be the key to our victory, she could be..."

"A little girl" Xander cut her off.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: His Girls Part 3

Author: Wizleysnipes

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me, they all belong to Joss Whedon.

Authors Notes: Takes place after the end of the show, Xander is in Africa.

Buffy just looked at Xander, not really sure how to respond to that.

"She's a young lady Buffy. Just like all my girls are. If they need me to keep a secret for them then i will take it to the grave. Eshe was informed of her abilities by me, she asked that i refrain from informing the council, as she was aware they'd want to take her somewhere else and probably run some tests on her."

Buffy couldn't argue with that logic at least. However if what he'd said was true, this girl could be the salvation for the entire world.

"Why her?" Buffy asked

"Why anybody Buffy. Why were you called when all you wanted to do was buy clothes and makeup and become a smaller version of Cordelia?"

Buffy slapped him on the arm "Hey, if anything she was a gigantic version of me"

Raising his hands in supplication he replied "My mistake.. Also gigantic? You should be glad she isn't still floating around with angel powers still. You'd be so smited"

Getting back to business Buffy cleared her throat "So, what? You're just going to be an independent encampment? I'm not so sure the others will like that..."

Xander shrugged "I mean, it's not like they could do anything to us. If push comes to shove i'd bet my girls against everybody else."

"Well i'm glad you believe in them Xander but they would be severely outnumbered."

"Yea, significantly. You know how many girls i've lost in the 5 years i've been stationed here Buffy?" He looked her square in the eyes.

"No idea."

"Zero" He replied "I'm pretty sure we're the only ones that have that kind of record. That's because my girls know there jobs and do them better than any other 10 slayers out there. Hell just to qualify for patrol a girl has to get into the pit with Eshe and survive for 1 minute"

Buffy blinked once "You make them fight? That sounds awful..."

"Eshe knows her job. She's not allowed to hurt the other girls, she just gets them into a position where they have to give everything they have if they hope to stand a chance. The only person Eshe has ever hurt was me"

"You?" Buffy asked quizically "She hurt you? Do i need to sort her out?"

Xander smiled wide at her defending him "No Buffy. It was my fault. It was dark and i grabbed her, she saw the eye patch and reacted and i ended up with a dislocated shoulder and a young girl in tears."

"Look, i know you're trying to defend her actions Xander but she can't go around using her abilities like that. That's one thing the new council cannot stand..."

"Buffy" He groaned and rubbed his eye patch with his left hand "Before she was the slayer, she had plenty of people taking advantage of her. This place isn't the mid-west. It just so happened that one of the men had an eye patch. She reacted badly once. Since then she's been nothing but a blessing"

"Fine fine fine" Buffy grumbled

"Also" Xander continued "I'm not so sure you could "sort her" out"

"You are aware that i'm Buffy right?" Buffy asked.

"Oh the height gives it away" He quipped and grinned at her half hearted slap "But trust me in my judgement Buffy. After all i've seen you do and accomplish. I'm pretty sure Eshe could take you and Faith at the same time"

"Pfft i'd like to see the short ass try" Buffy grumbled.

"Another height joke? You really do have a complex you know. We have a shrink in the camp if you want to get that checked out..." Xander smiled trying to diffuse the conversation, well aware of how competitive slayers could be.

"Says the guy with an eye patch and a harem of girls" Buffy quipped.

"Don't go giving the girls any ideas" Xander pleaded "They'd love to have that name on a signpost somewhere if only to drive me nuts"

Buffy poked her own chin in thought "Don't know Xan. I mean what can you offer me instead of all the hilarity that would dissuade me?"

"Blackmail? Really?" Xander grinned "Because i've my own fair share of Buffy secrets in this noggin just waiting to escape to the right people"

He tapped the side of his head to make a point. Buffy wasn't exactly sure what he had on her but really wasn't willing to risk it either.

"Fine" she grumbled.

"So what have you been upto anyways?" Xander asked as he walked over to the living area and took a seat on the couch, he patted the spot next to him and she nimbly walked over and took a seat then turned to look at him.

"I mean... Work. There's not much else to really tell." Buffy replied and realised how sad that sounded as soon as she did. It'd been 10 years since Sunnydale and she really didn't have much to show for it personally.

"No knights in shining armor?" He asked "Or vamps in Plymouth Belvedere's?"

"If you're hinting at who i think you're hinting at" Buffy warned.

"There was no hint. It was totally a legit question. I've heard Angel finally got his humanity and was just wondering is all..."

"You know that's a weird question from you right?" Buffy asked.

"Why? Because me and the artist previously known as Deadboy didn't get on well?" Xander asked "true but me and you have always been great"

"I dunno, recently that hasn't seemed so" Buffy murmured quietly and shifted back onto the couch.

"Well it's pretty hard to cultivate a friendship when we live half the world away from each other. We do what we can though. You know i'd be there in an instant if you needed me though, right?"

Xander said it with such conviction she gulped "Of course and the same applies the other way round. It's just been a boring few years without my Xander shaped throw pillow taking up my couch"

"Well your more than welcome to be a Buffy shaped throw pillow on my couch for as long as you need" He replied "Though the girls may get jealous and start leaving stuff in your room"

"Really?" Buffy smiled "like what?"

"Well the last girl i was dating found a few stakes embedded into her headboard on quite a few occasions. One of the reasons i've never really found anybody out here, that and the women are few and far between"

"Probably doesn't help that when you bring them back to "yours" there's 52 pretty teenage girls hanging around..." Buffy left that open with a smile

"Oh thats easy, i just tell them i'm training the girls for the circus and they're all freaks."

"Probably one of the reasons the girls don't seem to like your dates" Buffy said "Don't ya think?"

"Probably" Xander replied in thought "So how long you plan on staying Buff?"

"Why? you trying to get rid of me already?" Buffy asked with a pointed finger in his direction.

"I would never" Xander said grabbing at his chest "Just wondering if you wanted to accompany us on a patrol tonight, that's all, see how we do things around here"

"That'd be great. Maybe i can pick up some tips on how to be the "boss"" She grinned.

"Well for starters" Xander replied and stood up out of arms reach "You should grow a few inches, shorty"

He immediately left her there stunned as he headed towards his bathroom, getting inside he slammed the door shut in her face as she chased him.

"You have to come out sometime Harris!" Buffy snarled and slammed her hand on the door

"Nope i've got the runs..."

"That is way too much information" She groaned and placed her back to the door, sliding down it she sat on the floor.

"Hey! This is Africa. Everybody has the runs"

Buffy stood up and slammed her heel back against the door "I'm going back to my room to take a nap, i'll get you later"

"Remember Buff. Eshe is my shadow!" He warned.

"I'll just have to make her defect to the light side" Buffy replied sweetly "ive got chocolate, loads and loads of chocolate"

Leaving him on that thought Buffy headed back to her room for a few hours sleep. Having jet lag still from the previous day and having been woken up so readily had taken it's toll on her again.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: His Girls Part 4

Author: Wizleysnipes

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me, they all belong to Joss Whedon.

Authors Notes: Takes place after the end of the show, Xander is in Africa.

Buffy watched him inspect the girls before Patrol with a smile on her face, it was so unusual to see him in such an authoritative position. Although thinking on it she realised he'd been an actual foreman many times in his construction career and that said career had been rather successful before Sunnydale fell into a hole.

All of the girls were dressed the same, black fatigues with a black vest on that had various pouches for holy water and over trinkets. Across there backs was a scabbard with a sword hilt sticking out and on there belts were 4 wooden stakes attached. She also noted than on there left hips they had a holster with some type of pistol in it which made her raise her eyebrow in concern. Also on there heads was a hard looking helmet with what appeared to be a camera over the left eye pointing forwards.

"Now girls" Xander said as he walked down the line "Buffy will be in command with me. We will be watching your performance. I know it's been rather quiet lately on the old patrol front but thats so reason to be complacent"

"complacency results in death" all the girls rebuked causing a full on grin to appear on Buffy's face.

Xander stopped in front of a small blonde girl and looked down at her steadily, then pointed to her belt.

"Whats that Stacy?"

On one of her belt loops she had attached her cellular phone.

"Well i was bored last time on patrol boss... I just thought.."

"Stacy" He interrupted and she removed the item from her belt and held her hand out in front of her, he took it from her hand and placed it in his back pocket "It's all well and good but if something happened and Jasmine and Shan were in trouble but you were too busy updating your facebook status..."

Some of the girls giggled.

"Well you know the rules S" He continued "and trust me when i say they are for your own good"

"Yes boss" she replied sadly with her head hanging down.

He grabbed her chin softly and made her raise her eyes to his single eye "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye"

Stacy broke out in a smile and nodded her head.

"Okay girls. You know the rotations and who's in what unit. Head out"

Xander turned to Buffy "You're with me Buff" She nodded in confirmation and followed him into a garage that was full of vehicles. Van's and cars were end to end in the relatively large

room.

Xander stopped behind a relatively large white van and opened one of the back door and gestured to her "Mi' lady"

"Why thank you kind sire" Buffy replied with a coutesy and stepped inside the vehicle. Inside there were many monitors with 2 chairs at the kayboards for the monitors, she stepped forward and took a seat on one of the office chairs. "Nice setup".

"We do try..." He replied as he took his seat and started flipping some switches on the console in front of him "Unit's 1 through 4 confirmation"

Slipping on some headphones he handed Buffy a pair too which she slipped over her ears as the girls all started responding.

"Jasmine confirmed"

"Sarah confirmed"

"Shan confirmed"

"Trish confirmed"

When the voices died down he grabbed the microphone off the desk and sat back with it.

"Okay, Unit 1 south side, 2 and 3 go east and west respectively and unit 4 comes in from the north... Confirm unit leaders"

"Unit 1 confirmed south side"

"Unit 2 confirmed east side"

"Unit 3 confirmed west side"

"Unit 4 confirmed north side"

Sitting back he grinned at her and stood up "Okay this van's gotta move, stay here it won't take long"

He moved to the front and took the drivers seat and twisted the ignition key. The engine roared to life and Buffy felt the van start to move out of the garage. Like he'd said it didn't take long, maybe 5 minutes and the van came to a halt and the engine turned off. Xander retook his seat and started flicking on the monitors. Before long pictures started coming from all the girls, he pressed a button and the monitors all turned green into night vision mode.

"Okay i gotta ask" Buffy said and he turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"ask away, i've got nothing to hide"

"What's with the pistols?"

Xander groaned and sat back in his chair "This isn't California or Cleveland Buffy, there's alot of dangerous people out there on this continent. Especially if you are a pretty teenage girl"

"But slayers can't go hurting people..." Buffy replied and gripped her arm rest "We are supposed to protect people"

"And while i agree with that in sentiment Buffy" Xander smiled "I'd rather someone else get hurt than any of my girls. They've never had to use them, they're a just in case kind of weapon. I try to cover everything"

Buffy grabbed his arm tightly in her right hand "And what happens if they do have to use them? and someone dies?"

"Then i've done my job correctly" He simply replied "My job Buffy is to protect them girls out there with everything i am. There's a reason my camp has never sent any of the girls we recruited away, none of them would want to leave. I would not ask one thing of them that i wouldn't be prepared to do myself."

"You'd shoot somebody for them?" She gasped "Do i even know you anymore?"

He smiled and pulled his arm free from her but grabbed her hand "Buffy... Think back to high school, to all the crap we went through"

"Okay, what's that got to do with this?"

"If you don't think i'd have done the exact same for all of you guys even back then then i suppose maybe you didn't really know me. To stop someone hurting my friends there's not a whole lot i wouldn't go through Buffy"

She looked at him, the eye patch on his face was a constant reminder to her of what he would go through for his friends. Buffy hated that thing, it was a constant reminder of all they'd lost over the years and of what he'd sacrificed for her fight.

"You know i always hated that eye patch..." She added.

"You know Willow did at one point say she could fix my eye with some kind of spell" Xander replied and checked the monitors one by seeing anything of worth he thumbed the microphone button once.

"All units head to objective 2 confirm"

The replies came through the headsets one by one and Buffy could see the girls camera's turn 180 and start walking backwards out of the graveyard. She looked at Xander.

"Objective 2?"

"It's another graveyard, awfully close to this one" He replied.

She nodded her head "Okay so why didn't you take Willow up on her offer?"

"Anya died Buffy"

Buffy slanted her head to look at him, he didn't look maudlin when he'd said it. Which is a far cry from the Xander she'd seen five years prior.

"Okay and what does..."

"Anya died" He interrupted her.

"So you're punishing yourself?" Buffy asked.

He smiled "No. Maybe that answer would have been different once upon a time, but no i'm not punishing myself. Anya's body is somewhere in the crater of Sunnydale and somewhere down there is also the piece of me i left behind. If i can't be with her completely, the least i can give her is that"

Buffy nodded and smiled at him. In some weird way it did make sense to her and she realised not for the first time how little she knew of her friend in the present. The thought made her solemn for the briefest of moments as she vowed over the time she was here as a guest to get reacquainted with Xander.

"However" She said "in your line of work, it is a weakness is it not?"

Xander tilted his head "Most definitely but you have met Eshe right?"

"Your own personal shadow?" She grinned "We have been acquainted"

"You jealous?" He responded

"Jealous?" Buffy made a face and slapped him on the chest "Hardly. Just i wouldn't mind a body guard... maybe Kevin Costner"

"Eww gross Buff" Xander replied "Dudes like in his 60's"

"And yet he'd still be my third oldest boyfriend" She replied.

Years ago they'd have never talked about this kind of stuff with each other and they definitely wouldn't have made any jokes about it, Buffy surmised. Absence changes things she guessed and so did time.

"True, still doesn't make it right. Although your not exactly a spring chicken anymore either"

Making an affronted face she slapped him once around the upper right arm "How dare you!"

Voices started coming through there headsets next.

"Objective 2 clear south side"

"Objective 2 clear east side"

"Objective 2 clear west side"

"Objective 2 clear north side"

Xander grinned at Buffy then clicked the microphones button.

"Okay girls, all units head back to home base. If you're good i've got some Ice cream for you"

Buffy heard giggles over the radios as they fell silent "So we're done?"

"Pretty much. There isn't much in the way of local nightlife around here. Sometimes we travel to the worst of it but that's usually planned well in advance and normalyl includes our resident mage, Martin"

"I thought he was the medic?" She asked.

"He's pretty much everything. Abit like our Willow only not a lesbian"

Buffy grinned and felt her phone starting ti vibrate in her pocket, pulling the offending item out of her jeans she looked at the caller id "Speak of the devil". Holding a finger up to Xander she pressed the answer call button and placed the phone to her ear.

"You know" Xander murmured "If you were one of my girls i'd totally remove your ice cream privileges for having your phone in command"

"Buffy where the hell are you" Willow's voice came frantically through her phone.

"Africa..." Buffy replied confused.

"What, when did this happen?" Willow replied.

"What are you talking about Will? I'm with Xander. You literally said 4 days ago you were too busy to come with me... Have you done another memory loss spell on yourself? If you forgot how to change your pants then get one of the cleveland lesbians to help"

Xander's eye rolled upwards and his tongue came out of his mouth drooling, like he was thinking of that and Buffy slapped him on the knee hard and mouthed "gross" to him.

"One man's gross is another mans kink" He responded and then headed to the drivers seat "Anyways i'll get us back to the garage, you enjoy your chat with the red headed step child"

"WHAT DID HE CALL ME?" Willow angry voice could be heard and Buffy pulled the phone away from her ear in discomfort.

"Willow, use your inside voice please" Buffy pleaded.

"Okay fine" She grumbled "Oh yea i remember that. It just slipped my mind is all, i've been on a few dates this week..."

"hussy" Buffy murmured.

"I'm really glad i called to get insulted by the one eye carpenter and his side chick"

"Side chick?" Buffy retorted in offense "IF anything i'd be the main squeeze"

"I dunno Buff" Xander's voice could be heard from the drivers seat as he pulled the van into the garage and the doors closed behind them "I mean, i have a pulse"

"I hate you both" Buffy replied.

She slipped out of the back of the van as Xander opened the door for her. She motioned that she was going to head back to her room and continue her call, he nodded once in confirmation and headed towards the line of girls that had returned from patrol.

Buffy left him to it and walked back to her room and took a seat on her bed as Willow regaled her with the tale of her few dates.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: His Girls Part 5

Author: Wizleysnipes

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me, they all belong to Joss Whedon.

Authors Notes: Takes place after the end of the show, Xander is in Africa.

Buffy was sat up on one of the outer walls. They surrounded the entire encampment. Her back was to the wall and she was looking down into the courtyard. She could see the whole place she had quickly come to refer to as home and she'd only been here a week. Buffy heard a cough and looked to her right Xander was standing there with a smile and walked towards her.

"This seat taken?" he asked, pointing to the wood next to her.

"Well i was hoping some dashing and charming guy would come and sit next to me" Buffy replied with a smile.

Taking a seat he turned to her "Yea but they'd be off dating someone younger"

She grumbled in reply and knocked her shoulder into his.

"Maybe they'd be dating one of your girls?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye, knowing very well how protective he could get.

"Well... they better be bullet proof" Xander said "Or at the very least heal quickly"

"You know you can't protect them from life Xander"

"I can try" He grinned "Also i'm aware of my limitations thanks"

Buffy grabbed his right hand in hers "It's called growing up Xan"

Xander nodded his head "I know and it sucks"

"Yup"

Something had been happening between the two of them over the last week, neither of them had been strong enough to label it or even attempt to bring it up. Buffy wasn't sure where these feelings for her friend had come from, maybe it was the distance and time that had done it or maybe it was seeing him be such a good leader and father figure to the many girls he was in charge of, she wasn't sure and she didn't know if she even had the energy to really fight it or if she even wanted to.

He nudged her and pointed to a section of the courtyard where a few of the girls were sparring.

"You want to see something cool?"

Buffy shrugged "cool is always welcome"

He pulled a radio off his belt and thumbed the switch "Eshe's up"

She heard a garbled reply she couldn't really make out and he pressed the button again.

"Impress me"

Down below Buffy saw Eshe step onto the mat, she was surrounded by other slayers. The girl was so tiny and young it was scary to think of how much power that little body held. She pointed to girl after girl.

6 of the girls stepped forward and surrounded her.

"Really?" Buffy asked "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"For who?" Xander replied and just motioned for her to watch.

The girls all circled her and were looking at each other cautiously, before the three behind her suddenly made a decision to move. All 3 went to attack in various ways and Eshe was stood stock still and suddenly it was like a switch was flicked. Eshe moved with unparalleled speed and grace. Her arm came up and blocked one leg meant for her head before she fell to her right leg and swept her foot out behind her and connected with two of the girls sending them sprawling. The last attacking girl stumbled upon witnessing this with her fist headed to an area where Eshe had previously been, she looked down and saw the girl crouched down and gulped. One hit to the midriff sent her flying back onto her stomach.

"That looked painful" Buffy said rubbing her stomach.

Xander smiled "She's a pro Buff. She knows what she's doing, just trust me okay"

All 3 of the girls that were down on the matt pulled themselves up and stepped back into the throng of slayers to nurse there wounds. It left Eshe and the 3 remaining slayers.

The 3 remaining girls decided to up there game and came out swinging, all 3 of them went to attack seperate areas. One dropped to the floor and swung her legs out, the 2nd went stomach level with a kick and the last went forward with a combo of fists to the head. Eshe seemed to bend back on herself as she placed one hand on the floor out of the reach of the offending leg, she kicked upwards with both legs and connected against the two girls and send them backwards into the crowd where the other slayers all stopped there momentum.

Pushing up on her hand she flipped over and landed a kick with her right heel to the last girl and sent her to the ground.

Just like that, the fight was over. It took less than 2 minutes for Eshe to lay waste to 6 other slayers and Buffy whistled in appreciation.

"She really is great huh" Buffy said.

Xander nodded with a smile "Put it this way, if we ever need one of the other girls to be taught a lesson in humility.. she's the one to do it"

She nodded her head in response, it wasn't a secret that most slayers were overly confident and cocky when it came to slaying.

Looking back on it Buffy wished there had been someone to teach her that lesson a few times. You don't need to beat everything alone.

She looked at the man besides her, he was a testament to that. He'd been fighting the same fight as her for almost as long as she had and in many ways had lost just as much or more to it and still he was here strong besides her. He'd lost his depth perception but he'd never lost the thing that made him stand out in the first place, his unwavering loyalty.

"Why do you do it?" Buffy had to ask, she'd never really given it much thought before now but was genuinely curious.

"Huh?" Xander replied looking confused.

"All this" She said, looking around her "You could have walked away at any time and actually had a normal life"

"Normal is over-rated" Xander replied with a smile.

"Except i'm not joking" Buffy said "Also before you go off getting mad or angry i'm not saying you shouldn't do it or that you aren't good enough because i'd clearly be wrong if this place is any indication. I'm just asking why do you do it?"

Xander looked at her in thought "Well i don't even know that i'd know how to do anything else Buff. I've been here since the beginning and i'm going to see it through to the end. Whatever that end may be"

Buffy nodded and laid her head on his right shoulder and he slipped his arm around her in a loose embrace making her sigh.

(I could get used to this) Buffy thought then immediately berated herself (Bad Buffy, this is Xander)

Except over the past week that distinction had been getting harder and harder to make.

"Also" He continued "I saw this amazing girl in high school with wooden stakes in her bag and well i was a lost cause after that"

Comments like that didn't make it any easier on her either "Aww Xan"

"What?" He replied with a wink "I didn't even mention what you were wearing yet"

She groaned and pushed away from him "And like that the moment is ruined"

"Don't worry about it" He said "There's more moments"

He pulled something from his pocket and looked at her slightly worried. She couldn't tell what it was but his face made her a bit nervous.

"Anyways i came to find you because i wanted to ask you something" Xander continued "You see the thing is, we've got it pretty great here. I've got a great team that help to research. A team that helps with training the slayers including some pretty kickass black belts in martial arts i can't even pronounce. However we are lacking something"

Buffy nodded her head and motioned for him to continue.

"You see, martial arts and them kind of disciplines were really only intended for humans. Like i can teach a slayer how to fight like a one eye'd carpenter with anger management issues but that's about it. We need a slayer to teach other slayers. It's really the only way."

She could see where this was headed now and wasn't sure how to respond just yet.

"I know you've got your life over in Cleveland and whatever that entails and we can't offer exactly a spectacular social life out here in the Congo but i thought i'd offer it to you. Plus you get to see me everyday"

Buffy knew he said that last bit in jest because of the smirk on his face but honestly that would be the best part of the offer. In the last week she'd had more fun here with him than she'd had in the last few years. It felt good to get back to basics and just spend time hanging out with the occasional work thrown into the mix. Back in Cleveland everything had become so mundane and boring. She never really hung out with Willow anymore, the girl was always too busy going on dates with the lesbian population of the city. Dawn was always too busy getting her life on track with her husband, which was completely understandable to Buffy.

"Look" Xander said "I'm not asking you to decide straight away or anything. Just give it some thought, okay?"

Buffy nodded, she definitely would.

"Even if you need to go back home for a bit and mull it over" Xander continued "It's understandable"

"Ok ill think about it" Buffy said and pulled herself upwards till she was standing, reaching down she grabbed his hand and helped him stand "On that note i've got a call with Willow i need to be on, she needs my help with something or other"

Xander nodded "Okay, i'll catch you later? You still want to come on patrol?"

Buffy grinned "Of course"

The item he'd been playing with in his hands was a bracelet she noticed, he slipped it back into his pocket and walked off the way he'd came from earlier and left Buffy standing there with her thoughts.

It was a big risk what he'd offered. She was pretty content with her life in Cleveland that's for sure. Contentment wasn't everything though, this she knew. She watched him disappear down the ladder and head towards his quarters probably not even realising the turmoil he'd left behind in her mind.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and Buffy sighed and grabbed the offending item, pressing answer call she was rewarded with a very nasally sounding Willow.

"I don't feel so good Buffy..."

(Oh Jeez)

This was going to be a fun call.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: His Girls Part 6

"So what are you going to do?" Willow asked and Buffy could hear her wipe her nose on a tissue.

Buffy had been on the phone with Willow for the last hour and had fully explained the situation and what Xander had offered. The big question was what threw her, she really wasn't sure.

"I mean i'm not sure..."

"Buffy" Willow interrupted "I know you think i've been distracted the last year or so over here in Cleveland but i had noticed that your heart wasn't exactly in this place"

"Yea but.." Buffy said "What about you and Dawnie? I'll probably never see either of you"

"Buffy don't be stupid. Hell if i wanted to i could teleport over there right now and bring Dawn with me. Also Dawn's no longer a little girl Buffy, shes happy and shes got someone that she loves. Maybe it's time you worried more about your own happiness than somebody elses"

Buffy nodded to herself then realised how stupid that was because Willow couldn't see her "Yea but i've never been this far away from her for very long... it's my job to look after her"

"Yep and you did a brilliant job. Look at her without your sister tinted glasses for one second. She's brilliant. Shes the best watcher in the damn world. She has a lovely husband and is about to give birth in like 6 weeks. Thats because of you Buffy."

"She is pretty spectacular" Buffy agreed "Also i'd really like to be there for her when the baby comes"

"You can be" Willow interjected "Honestly Buffy i'm about to smack you upside your blonde head"

"Willow!" Buffy shrieked "Is that anyway to talk to your best friend?"

"It is when she's been dense. I mean at this point i'm talking Harmony in high school dense"

"That's just rude" She grumbled.

"When the baby comes" Willow continued "I promise i'll be right here and i can bring you over in an instant, you and Xander."

"Willow should you really be using magic like that?" Buffy asked.

"Oh please, it's barely magic for me." Willow replied "It's okay Buffy. I'm not doing anything i shouldn't be doing... i'm totally at peace with my magic"

"Aslong as you say so" Buffy responded.

"I do. So if those are your only issues with the whole moving over there thing i don't think you really have an argument left" Willow said "You could maybe argue that Robin wouldn't like it but honestly at this point i think that's more of a positive than a negative"

"Well he never really got over the whole "me dislocating his shoulder" thing from last year"

"I mean he did have to do physio for 2 months" Willow responded "I'd be a bit pissed too"

"Well i did tell him kindly to not get in my way and he definitely shouldn't have grabbed my arm like that"

"True" Willow murmured "Anyways back to the topic at hand, no changing subjects missy"

"Hey, i wasn't. You brought up Robin" Buffy defended herself.

"Yep i did and now we are going back to what is your problem?"

"I don't know Will. It's so complicated"

"Oh..." Willow replied "Oh i see."

"You see what?" Buffy asked

"You have a crush on Xander" Willow surmised and before Buffy could interrupt she continued "Don't try and deny it Buffy. I'm kind of the worlds expert on having a crush on Mr Harris."

Buffy laid back on her bed and grabbed a pillow in a crushing hug "Jeez i'm so lame"

"No you are not. I'm plenty of things Buffy but i have never been nor will i ever be lame and that's what you implied" Willow said

"I mean it's just a crush right" Buffy replied "It will go away. So maybe i just come back to Cleveland and live my life and it will go away"

"Or maybe you could grow a pair" Willow said quietly, of course it wasn't that quiet that Buffy didn't hear her.

"Willow!" She admonished.

"What?" Willow squeaked with a sniffle "I'm just saying. Also trust me that distance won't solve the issue Buffy. Girls that get feelings for Xander... well they're kinda in it for the long haul. He's just that great"

"Yea" Buffy agreed with a smile, if there is one thing they could agree on it was that.

"If you don't do something about it maybe i'll have a word.." Willow trailed off.

"Nuh huh, friend privilege. calling it right here. You keep your mouth shut missy"

"Pfft fine" Willow grumbled "Although if you don't do something about it i will endlessly mock you forever and remind you that Xander was braver than you"

"When?"

"You don't remember freshman year? Spring fling ring any bells?" Willow asked.

"Oh yeah, that was years ago" Buffy replied "That so doesn't count as him been braver"

"Buff.. the spring fling is a time for students to gather" Willow jogged her memory and she heard her giggle on the other side of the phone.

"That was kinda cute" Buffy admitted and immediately gulped, she'd never really said anything so forward out loud yet and it was unnerving.

"Jeez you do have it bad girl"

Buffy pulled the pillow over her face and groaned into it "Don't i know it"

"Just be yourself Buffy" Willow said "It may sound cliche but Buffy is pretty great"

"I can't be myself, i have to be better" Buffy replied with a moan and threw her pillow off the bottom of the bed "Buffy is the one that broke his heart and made him get over her.."

"Wow" Willow replied "For a girl that has spent alot of time with Xander you really don't know him that well"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She questioned.

"Well just that if you think he ever really got over you then you probably aren't very good at reading him" Willow said "I mean sure he moved on, he even fell in love a few times but thats mostly because he didn't have a choice."

"Whatever Willow" Buffy replied snarkily not believing the redheaded witch for a second "I'll go ask him out, he'll laugh in my face and then our friendship will be forever tainted and it will be all your fault"

"Wow, i know you've taken a few hits to the ol noggin over the years but i never thought it did any permanent damage till right this moment"

"Willow!" Buffy shrieked "Where the hells my support? You know, you threaten to hurt him if he does anything bad to me? That sort of schtick. This bitchy Willow is really not helping me out"

"Buffy let's be perfectly honest here. With your track record you are the one most likely to do the hurting" Willow said "So if you hurt him i'll teleport you to the biggest mall in the world"

"That doesn't sound like much of a threat"

"However" Willow continued "Your clothes will not be accompanying you"

"Pfft yea right" Buffy said "You can't do that"

Buffy heard some weird sounds on the other side of the phone and suddenly her shoes fell away from her feet without the laces even been untied and fell off the end of the bed.

"Really?" Willow replied.

"Willow" Buffy said "You've never used that on random girls you are attracted to right?"

"No..not at all" Willow responded.

"Why don't i believe you?" Buffy asked

"Because your pretty smart"

"Wow a compliment, but pretty smart?"

"I'm still smarter" Willow said "And as the smart one i say you take a chance on life out there on the dark continent and maybe you'll actually have found a home again"

"Okay fine, just shut up already" Buffy replied "Anyways i've got to go. It's almost dinner time."

"Fine fine" Willow grumbled then sniffled on the other side of the phone "One positive to this call was that while i was tormenting you i didn't even notice how bad my cold was this entire phone call"

"That's what i'm here for, verbal target practice" Buffy said as she sat up "See you later and don't go giving that cold to my sister. We all know how bad Dawnie is when she's even slightly ill"

"I probably shouldn't make out with her then" Willow said with a laugh then hung up from her end of the phone.

Buffy just shivered and looked disgustingly at the phone in her hand before placing it on the bedside table. Grabbing her shoes from where they'd fallen she slipped them back on and stood up. It was time for dinner and maybe for a bit of recon with the young slayers about there current leader and his dating habits over the last little while.

She smiled, she could do this.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: His Girls Part 7

"Um... You know, Buffy, uh, Spring Fling is a... time for students to gather and... Oh, God!" Xander took a deep breath "Buffy, I want you to go to the dance with me. You and me, on a date."

"I-I don't know what to say."

Buffy shook the memories of the past out of her mind, there was no point in considering what if scenarios.

*Who knows if we'd even have the friendship we do now if i'd said yes, or if it would have even worked out considering my track record with guys*

"Buff?"

She turned her head to the right and looked at Xander who had a quizzical look on his face.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit distant"

They had eaten for the evening and she was accompanying him on patrol of the local hotspots, for once she wasn't really a necessity as his 2 teams of 5 slayers laid waste to anything and everything supernatural in origin as they slowly walked through the graveyard.

"Yea sorry, was just daydreaming" She smiled at him "Xander.. You ever wonder what would have happened if i'd have said yes?"

He looked lost for a second then realization seemed to dawn in his remaining good eye and he smiled "Well considering our track records..."

Buffy smiled back "Great minds i guess..."

"Although..." He winked at her and smirked "You'd have had the best sex you'd ever had and i'd have ruined all mankind for you..."

"Pfft" She let out a breath and slapped his shoulder "So full of yourself..."

"I want points right now for not making an innuendo"

"In your endo" Buffy replied smiling.

"I knew buying you the scrubs boxset was a mistake" He muttered shaking his head "You aren't supposed to relate to the Todd Buff."

The radio on his belt let out some static and one of the girls, *Sophie* Buffy thought, voices came through.

"If you two would stop flirting or at the very least depress the radio button that would be super thanks..." Sophie said.

Xander just looked down at the radio on his belt where it had awkwardly been pressed towards his stomach enough to push the button down. He pulled it slightly forward and the button depressed and then he smiled at Buffy.

"You know, i should really reprimand her for that but honestly... that's too much like something i would say"

Buffy grinned "Well you did teach them well, maybe next they can master the art of foot in mouth"

"Pretty sure that is in my DNA and can't be taught" He nudged her shoulder with his "what d'ya say we take these crazy kids home and you and me have a glass of wine"

"I'd say lead the way Sire" Buffy chuckled and followed him as he sent out recall commands to the two teams.

As they walked back to where the van was parked the two slayer teams slipped into step out of the shadows behind Xander and Buffy smiled at how in sync his entire operation seemed to be.

"I want to chat with a few of the girls, i'll drop back till we get to the van" she said and Xander nodded in confirmation.  
Stepping into line with Sophie she regarded the young slayer with a critical eye and the little red headed slayer seemed to wilt slightly under her gaze.

"Can I help you?" She stuttered, in a very similar way to a certain best friend , but also in a very strong South African accent."Buffy right? I've heard so many stories about you from the boss"

Buffy smiled at the girl "Well I'm sure most of them are exaggerated, Xander tends to do that"

Sophie nodded her head slightly and chuckled "Well I never believed a slayer could fall in love with a vampire anyway, I mean that's insane right?"

"Sure.. insane" Buffy gulped and averted her eyes "Well I wanted to ask about how Xander is doing and since me asking him just usually ends up with the same i'm fine response I thought I'd ask you girls"

"Well he's not dating anyone, if that's what you're wondering."

Buffy smiled at her "Why would you think i'd be curious about that?"

Sophie just stared at her with a raised eyebrow "Really, I heard the flirting."

"We've been friends forever, we stay stuff like that.."

"Also" Sophie butted in and pointed her head in the direction of Xander "Who wouldn't want to date the boss? He's like a big teddy bear with a heart of gold..."

"And an ass that won't quit" Buffy muttered

Sophie giggled "You are aware we're all slayers.. with the strength, speed and senses right?"

"Oh jeez, did I say that out loud" Buffy blushed "Sorry, it's been a while"

Sophie smiled and nodded her head "Sure, I can understand that. Though if you hurt him..."

"Is this the "i'll kill you speech"" Buffy wondered aloud.

"You know every girl here would die for him in a heartbeat right?"

Buffy smiled and nodded "So would I..."

"Well you take that and then add Eshe will do anything for him" Sophie said "She would ruin your life if you hurt him, in ways you can't even fathom"

"You know i've been a slayer a while, I can handle other slayers"

"Oh sure, we've all heard the stories. All I know is I've never seen anyone stand toe to toe with that girl and come out on top, besides the boss, and that's because she'd never even attempt to hit him"Sophie said "When Xander found me I was part of an underground fighting ring, i'd been sold around since I was 5 and once I got my powers they saw an opportunity..."

Buffy winced and laid a hand on the younger girls shoulder "I'm sorry that you had to go through that..."

"Well i'd go through that a hundred times over if it meant I got to be here with him and my family" She said looking around at the other girls "Well anyways, Eshe volunteered to go under-cover for him in the fighting ring"

"Seems sensible..."

"Well they had these collars they put on all there fighters, even stronger ones for the more troublesome ones" She replied "It's why I could never escape... This collar was drilled into the spine and electrified every part of you"

Buffy looked appalled and turned her face away "Jeez..."

"Well they did the same to Eshe when she voluntarily joined, put the strongest collar they had on her. I'm pretty sure that's one of the only times her and Xander have ever disagreed on something."  
"Always a protector" Buffy smiled "He can't help himself..."

"Like his initiation speech says for the new girls, he won't have them do anything he isn't prepared to do himself. So Eshe was out-fitted with this collar and had to fight her way through many people to come face to face with me. I'm not blowing my own trumpet but I was pretty high up in the rankings"

"I believe it" Buffy said

"So I was a bit wilder back then, always in pain and angry. Just pure rage at the hand i'd been dealt"

"Understandable" Buffy interrupted "I'd be pretty angry too."

"So I'd been mostly fighting full grown men, most of them murderers and rapists. I'd even killed a few"

Buffy looked away, she didn't love the idea of a slayer dishing out permanent justice on humans but given the circumstances this slayer had found herself in, she couldn't say she wouldn't have done the same.

"Now comes this little girl, looked even younger than me. Noticeably smaller." Sophie smiled remembering "We get to the middle of the ring for the fight to start, me thinking this will be easy, given my last bouts. We get within fist bumping distance and the girl opens her mouth "We can save you" She said"

Sophie chuckled and shook her head "I mean I just laughed, here was this little girl thinking she could save a lost cause like me... who did she think she was? I told her she was stuck in here like me and trying to escape meant they'd use the remote they had for her collar and just like me she'd fail. Eshe just smiled at me and said "Sure, they can use there little remote and I'm sure it'll hurt more than anything but I will never drop"

They all reached the van and started loading up into it, Buffy motioned that she would sit in back neck to Sophie and Xander nodded with a smile and motioned one of the girls to move to the front and take Buffy's place. Taking a seat she turned to Sophie and motioned for her to continue her story.

"So that made me even angrier" Sophie continued "I mean I'd never had any hope in my life and for someone to come in and try giving me some was more than I could take. The fight started as we bumped hands and I just went into a rage, I was seeing red. Eshe just smiled at me as I tried to hit her, she was so fast. Everything I threw at her she just avoided with such ease and it left me confused.. nobody could avoid what I was putting out there. The thing was she didn't even try to hurt me or even hit me, she just let me burn myself out on her. Of course the scumbags in charge of that place noticed she wasn't really fighting me"

Buffy nodded her head "I'm sure they did"

"So they commanded her to hurt me, to take the win. I was barely standing at that point, basically leaning on the ring wall... I just watched her shake her head and stand in front me" Sophie smiled "She said "We are leaving together and if anybody got in her way she would kill them" So the guys of course laughed at this little girl and raised the remote for her collar telling her to kill me or they'd punish her. Still she was defiant and told them to go ahead, I'd never seen anything like it. So they pressed the button. I saw her face contort from the agony but she didn't drop not like everybody else did, not like I did. She stood stock still and commanded them to get out of the way then with a flick of her wrist she pulled the collar from her neck, the one that had been drilled into bone, she just tore it off like it was nothing. I'd tried for weeks after they'd put it on to get this thing off my neck and even with all my strength I couldn't do it. It had been made from some really strong metal"

Sophie took a sip from a water bottle as a tear dropped from her left eye from the memories that still haunted her to this day. Buffy put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she recounted the memories.

"Blood poured down her back from the open wounds the collar had left on her neck but still she helped me move forward towards the cage exit, she supported a lot of my weight. "This will hurt alot" Eshe said as she touched the collar around my neck. I gritted my teeth but told her to "go ahead, I would be a prisoner no more". Eshe smiled at me with such a calming smile as she pulled this thing from my neck that had been a cage for me for so long and she snapped it. I passed out from the pain at that point, it was unbelievable. She carried me from that hell hole and kicked the crap out of anybody that got in her way all while protecting me."

"So what you're saying is, she's dangerous?" Buffy asked.

Sophie smiled "Sure, she's dangerous but aren't we all. I mean people aren't supposed to be able to lift a car up are they. What I'm saying is she did that for him because she knew if she hadn't that he'd have put himself in that situation to save a girl he didn't even know.

Buffy looked fondly at the driver of the van for a second as the van started up and shifted forward "Yea he's pretty special"

"I mean as difficult as my life has been and I've only told you half of it" She shuddered "Eshe's was worse. Passed around by rapists since she was tiny, even when she got her abilities it had been too late and she had been left broken and not even knowing how to fight back."

Sophie looked towards the front of the van "He saved her, saved all of us really. Drove into that compound with nothing but a shotgun and an axe and took her from that living hell. From what I've been told she was broken so badly when she was first brought home.. it took him years to truly get her to trust him and now she does nothing but trust him. She had powers from a much younger age than most of us, I think that's why she's so much stronger and faster. She hurt Xander once, he touched her shoulder and well that didn't end well. Arm pulled from the socket and snapped in 3 places before she realised what she was doing, even though it must have been agony he told her as he laid on the floor that he forgave her and it wasn't her fault and that he was proud of her for fighting back."

Buffy smiled as a tear slipped from her eye, reminded of so many times that he'd hid his own pain for the sake of others.

"I don't think she ever really forgave herself for that" Sophie continued "Anyway each and every girl at home as a similar story that Xander and Eshe have saved them from"

"So if I hurt him I'm in for a world of pain" Buffy surmised.

"That's not what I'm trying to say Buffy" Sophie shook her head slightly "You know what Xander's greatest gift is to the world, I mean you've known him longer than anyone, you should know..."

Buffy gulped "His heart"

"Yes and that's pretty much always belonged to you" Sophie replied and motioned for Buffy to stay quiet before she could interject "So you can cause him harm where nobody else would be capable."

"Tread lightly.. I can do that" Buffy added

"So what I'm asking" Sophie continued "is please, please don't hurt him. He's all we've got"

Buffy looked at the girls that all leaned in to listen and they all seemed to concur with Sophie's surmon.

"I'll do my best, I'm not intending to hurt anybody" Buffy replied "I love Xander"

That's when it hit her that she'd been telling the truth, she really did love Xander and things just got a whole lot more complicated.

"Oh shit" she thought. 


End file.
